Swimming pool



Nov. 20, 1962 J. P. KWAKE 3,064,273

SWIMMING POOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 28, 1959 WHANN 8 MCMAN/GALAfforneys for A Z/cdn/ J. P. KWAKE Nov. 20, 1962 SWIMMING POOL 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1959 JOHN P. KWAKE,

INVENTOR. WHAN/V 8 McMAN/GAL Af/arneys fin A a 271E001 nite 3,ilfi4,273Patented Nov. 20, 1962 3,064,273 SWIMMTNG PQQL John P. Kwake, 2507 CarobRoad, Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Aug. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 836,771 3Claims. (Cl. 4172) This invention relates generally to swimming poolsand relates more particularly to what may be termed prefabricated pools.

Swimming pools of the conventional type require considerable time toconstruct or install. Such pools also require the services of skilledworkmen to put in the tile and the like, and are quite costly.

While the invention has particular utility in connection withprefabricated swimming pools, and is shown and described iri suchconnection, it is to be understood that its utility is not confinedthereto.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a swimming pool thepart of which may be prefabricated at the factory and packaged forshipment to the place of installation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pool of thischaracter that requires no complicated machinery in the assembly andinstallation.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a swimming poolof this character the walls of which are in prefabricated sections andwhich may be easily assembled and secured together.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pool of this characterhaving a waterproof liner which may be easily and quickly installed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a pool of thischaracter, simple and effective means for securing the liner to thewall. This is effected by providing a groove in the wall formed by thewall sections and adjacent the top of said wall. The upper part of theliner is secured in said groove by means of locking members of tile orother suitable material.

it is a further object of the invention to provide means for locking thetile in said groove.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for holding theliner in position at the base of the wall.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pool of this characterthat is relatively inexpensive to assemble lowing detailed descriptionof the accompanying drawings which represent certain embodiments. Afterconsidering 7 these examples, skilled persons will understand that manyvariations may be made without departing from the principles disclosed,and i contemplate the employment of any structures, elements, or modesof operation that are properly within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a swimming pool embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective View, partially in section, of one arrangementof the pool embodying means for securing the liner in place;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view showing means forsecuring adjacent wall sections together;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the pool showing analternative wall structure;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged View of a portion of the pool as viewed from theinterior thereof showing an alternative arrangement for securing theliner in position in the pool; v

FIG. 7 i an enlarged sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of an alternative wall arrangementusing the liner retaining means shown in FIGS. 6 and 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view of the interior of a pool showing anotheralternative means for securing the liner securing tile or plates inposition;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the tile or plate securingmeans of FIG. 9,

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view of a wall part showing a gagefor positioning the coping relative to the recess for a portion of theliner; and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary portion of a wall part showing an alternativemeans for securing the liner.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 there is shown a swimming pool,indicated generally at 15, embodying the present invention. The pool,shown in FIG. 1, is oval in shape although it is to be understood thatit may be of any other desired shape such as round, rectangular, square,irregular, or the like. The wall of the pool is made up of sectionsindicated generally at 16 which are secured together in various ways.The wall sections may be of any suitable material but are shown as beingof concrete which may be suitably reinforced in any wellknown manner asby metal rods or the like.

' In PEG. 2 there i disclosed one type of pool construction whereinthere is a footing 17 of concrete having an upwardly facing groove 13which extends longitudinally of the footing and in which is disposedlower end portions of the wall sections 1d. The vertical ends of theWall sections are provided with eyes 19 and 2t) respectively which haveportions 1% anchored in the material forming the wall sections. The eyes1% are attached at one end of the respective wall sections while theeyes 2% are at the opposite end and are offset vertically from the eyes19. Further, the eyes 2d are disposed in vertical recesses in the endsof the respective wall sections and the'eyes l9 fit into said recessesso that the openings of said eyes I? and 28 are verticaly aligned andreceive the vertical portions of rods 24 which tie the wall sectionssecurely together. The lower end of each rod 24 may extend downwardlyinto the concrete footing 17, as best shown in PEG. 2 and at the upperend the rod has an outwardly turned substantially horizontal portion 25which terminates at it outer end in a downturned portion 26 which isanchored in a concrete header 27 which extends about the upper part ofthe pool.

The wall sections 16 shown in FIG. 2 have a horizontal coping 28 at theupper end, said copin extending outwardiy of the upper end of eachsection 16. At the inner edge of the coping is a head 29 which isgenerally round in cross section. There may also be a cable 23a disposedin a groove 23b in the outer edge ..30 of the coping to therebyadditionally secure the upper ends of the wall sections against outwarddisplacement. The cable 255a may be used alone or in connection with theheader 27. The latter may also be used alone and it is to be noted thatthere are reinforcing rods 27a which extend lengthwise of the header andare embedded therein.

The bottom of the pool has a layer of concrete 36 which supports thebottom portion 31 of a liner 32 of suitable flexible material such asplastic, for example. Various types of plastic or other waterproofmaterial in sheet form may be used but polyethylene has been found to behighly satisfactory.

The/liner 32 extends upwardly at 33 and lies against the inner faces ofthe wall sections 16, there being means for securing the upper edgeportion of the liner to the upper part of the wall defined by said wallsections 16.

Just below the bead 29 of the coping of each wall section there is arecess 35 which extends longitudinally of each wall section and thelower end of the recess is generally V-shaped and defined by an upwardlyprojecting flange 36 which extends longitudinally of the recess and isprovided with an inner side 37 which extends upwardly and outwardlyrelative to said recess 35.

An upper edge portion 33a of the liner is disposed in the recess 35 andengages or lies on the wall part 37 defining the lower end of recess 35as well as against the vertical wall defining the bottom of the recess.In order to secure the upper edge portion 33a of the liner in therecess, plates 40 of suitable material such as tile, for example, areinserted into the recess, as best shown inFIGS. 2 and 4. The thicknessof the tile is less than the depth'of the recess 35 and the width of thetile is less than the width of the recess so that when the tile isdisposed in said recess the lower outer edge 41 will rest on thatportion 7 V of the liner which lies on the wall 37 and said edge portion41 is rounded to prevent damage by cutting or otherwise of the linerportion against which it rests. Because of the upwardly and outwardlyinclination of wall 37 the lower edge of the tile is wedged in theV-shaped portion at the lower end of said recess to thereby securelyclamp the liner in position. The upper edge 42 of the tile is spaceddownwardly from the adjacent portion 43 of the underside of the innerpart of the coping to thereby form a recess which extends lengthwise ofthe wall sections. Disposed under compression in said recess is anenlarged tubular bead 44 which extends along the free edge of the linerand is formed integrally therewith. Normally said head 44 is annular incross section but when the tile 40 is pushed into poistion in the recess35 after the upper edge portion of the liner has been disposed in saidrecess said bead is compressed and urges the tile downwardly into theV-shaped portion of the lower end of said recess to thereby wedge theliner securely in the recess. It is to be noted that the wall of thetubular bead 44 is of substantial thickness so that when compressed,there is suflicient pressure on the upper edge of the tile to providethe necessary pressure for maintaining the tile in position to hold' theliner. It is'also to be noted that the head 44 is sufficiently large sothat a portion thereof extends outwardly beyond the plane of the frontor outer space of the tile 40 to thereby more securely hold the head inposition and prevent same from being pulled downwardly between the wallsof the recess and the tile. The size of the bead may lationship, thegrooves 50 of adjacent abutting ends define vertical openings which arefilled with concrete 51 or placed therein, the strip is pulledlongitudinally so as to reduce its width and then placed in the spacebetween the upper edge of the tile and the under side of the adjacentpart of the coping beneath the bead 29. When the strip 53 has beeninserted and the longitudinal tension released, the resiliency of saidstrip will cause it to contract lengthwise but increase in Width. Thecorrugations or pleats of the strip'53 will then react between the upperedge of the tile and the adjacent part of the underside of the copingand urge the tile 4% downwardly to wedge and secure the liner in therecess or groove 35. H

In the wall section shown in FIG. 7, there is an outwardly extendingflange 53a at the base of the wall section, said flange extendinglengthwise of said section. The outer edge 54 of the flange 53a isprovided with a recess 55 which extends lengthwise of the wall sectionand in which is disposed a cable 56 which cooperates with the cable 23ato hold the wall sections in position and prevent outward displacementof any of said sections. It is to be understood, of course, that thecables are drawn tight in order to prevent outward movement of the wallsections. 7

Referring to FIG. 8, the coping is indicated at 25d and is a separateelement from the wall section 16a. About the upper edge portion of thewall section 16a there is a trench 58 in the surrounding earth or otherformation 59, trench 58 being filled with concrete 6!) or the like toform a border section.

Extending along the inner upper edge of the border section 60, there isa notch or recess 61 in which an "underside of the coping 28d, saidspace being filled with grouting or cement 63 to securely bond the partstogether. The upper edge of the tile 40 is in substantiallythe sameplane as the upper end of the wall section 16a so that the like to holdthe wall'sections securely in position so 7 that abutting ends thereofwill not move laterally relative to each other.

Referring to FIGS. 6' and 7, there is disclosed an alternativearrangement whereby the tile or plates 40 are held in position in thegrooves 35 of the wall sections. In

this arrangement there is provided a strip of resilient sheet metalor'the like, indicated at 53 which is corrugated or pleated, and whichmay be considered as key elements holding the tile in position. Theseelements maybe of convenient lengths for easy handling. 7

After the edge portion of the linear has been properly positioned inthe. recess or groove 35 and the tile 40 are there is a space betweenthe upper edge of said tile and underside of the coping for reception ofmeans for retaining the tile securely in position for holding the linerin place. As shown, this means comprises strips 53 and in thisarrangement, as well as the arrangement shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, grouting64 is used to fill in the recess or groove in which the strips 53 are'dispose'd'so as to cover 7, I

said strips.

In FIGS. 9 and 10 there is shown an alternative ar- 'rangement forsecuring thetile 40 in position. This securing means comprises clips 65having'a width substantially the same as the thickness of the tile 40.'These clips are in the shape of a wide V and when inserted in the spacebetween the upper edges'of the tiles. 40 and the.

adjacent underside of the coping said clips 65 urge the tile downwardlyto hold same in position in substantially the same manner as the strips53. Grouting may be used to fill in the space between'the upper edges ofthe tile and the adjacent part of the grouting so as to cover theclipstudinal edge, the top edge for example, there is disposed a strip ofmaterial 76 which may be'of plastic or the like I and which has alongitudinally extending groove 77 in its under edge in which isreceived an uppe r edge portion 7 of the plate 75. From the upper edgeof the strip 76 to the adjacent part or bottom of the groove 77 is adistance substantially equal to twice the thickness of the liner so thatwhen the plate with the strip 76 is disposed in the recess 35c of thewall with the lower edgeof the plate disposed at the lowest point of therecess 350 the coping 28d will i be spaced from the lowest portion ofthe groove 350 a distance equal to the width of the plate 75 andtwothick- FIG. 11 shows'a wall'section' or partsimilar to that nesses ofthe liner. The reason of this arrangement will be described hereinbelow.

In FIG. 12 the plate 75 is shown as disposed in a tubular edge portionof the liner which is formed by turning back a free edge portion 79 ofthe liner to define the tubular portion indicated generally at 80.

It is to be understood that the tubular portion 80 extends about theperiphery or free edge of the liner and there are a series of spacedslits in the tubular portion in which a series of plates 75 are insertedso as to fill the tubular portion 80 with the parts of the liner atopposite sides of said plates lying against said sides, as best shown inFIG. 12. The plate 75 is positioned at the back of the recess 35c and itis to be noted that at both top and bottom edges of the plates there isa thickness of the liner so that when the plates 75 are positioned inthe recess 350 it is snugly disposed therein. Any pull from the lowerportion of the liner will tend to wedge the lower edge portion of theplates against the upwardly and outwardly inclined bottom Wall 37 of therecess so that the liner is securely held in position.

A series of tile 40 are then positioned in the recess 35a in front ofthe liner portion at the front side of the plates.

The lower edge of each tile '40 is disposed Within the recess 35c andbelow the upper end of the wall portion 37 so as to prevent the loweredge portion of the tile from pulling out. Between the upper edges ofthe tile 40 and the adjacent underside portion of the coping 28d areeither strips 53 or the clips 65 to resiliently urge the tilesdownwardly and retain them in position. Thereafter, grouting is added inthe spaces between the strips or clips and the upper edges of the tileand underside of the coping, as in the case of the arrangements shown inFIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 9, the grouting being indicated at 64.

After the grouting has set and hardened, the tile are held in position.The tile 49 serve as a decoration along the upper edge of the pool as inthe other arrangements herein disclosed.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description and it is believedthat it will be apparent that it? various changes may he made in theform, construction and arrangement of the parts of the invention withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof or sacrificing all of itsmaterial advantages, the embodiments hereinbefore described being merelyfor purposes of illustration.

I claim:

1. in a liner for swimming pools and the like: a sheet of flexiblematerial having a tubular portion along the free edge thereof, saidtubular portion having a series of spaced slits to receive plates tofill said tubular portion.

2. in a swimming pool: a wall having a longitudinally extending recesstherein, the lower wall of said recess being inclined upwardly andoutwardly relative to said recess; a liner having an enlarged tubularportion along the free edge thereof; and plate means disposed in saidtubular portion, said tubular portion and plate means being disposed insaid recess and said tubular portion engaging top and bottom walls ofsaid recess, said engagement with said bottom walls being inwardly oftheir highest surfaces.

3. The invention defined by claim 2 wherein there is also tile meansdisposed in said recess in front of the tubular portion of the linerdisposed in said recess with a lower edge portion held in position bythe lower wall of the recess; and means for securing the upper edgeportion of said tile in position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,260,589 Steger Mar. 26, 1918 1,360,408 Johnson Nov. 30, 1920 1,499,821Grifiiths July 1, 1924 1,726,970 Wichelhaus Sept. 3, 1929 1,905,017Vallas Apr. 25, 1933 1,963,405 Sichelman et al. -2 lune 19, 19342,104,473 Watson Jan. 4, 1938 2,858,693 Levert Nov. 4, 1958 2,864,098Lorimer Dec. 16, 1958 2,914,776 Hotz Dec. 1, 1959

